In this Aug. 9 photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to the media following a news conference and bill signing that authorizes New York City to lower their speed limit in New York.
AP FILE PHOTO

ALBANY >> Rob Astorino continued to hammer away at Gov. Andrew Cuomo Thursday, calling for federal prosecutors to wrap up the investigation of his shutdown of the Moreland corruption commission before Election Day.

Voters “have a right to know whether this governor broke laws and whether or not he’s going to be indicted and whether he should be able to serve for four more years if he is re-elected,” Astorino said.

“You look at the head of corruption right now, I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind it is Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “That’s why he’s being investigated by the U.S. Attorney. When he had the opportunities to really deal with the corruption, he chose to cut it off … anytime the breadcrumbs led to the governor’s office, they tried to shut it down.”

Astorino is demanding debates with Cuomo, but the request prompted little more than a shrug from Cuomo at a Syracuse stop earlier in the day.

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“I’ll leave it to the campaigns to work out if there should be debates (and) who should participate,” Cuomo told reporters after officially opening the State Fair.

Astorino, the Westchester County executive who is the Republican nominee for governor, wants multiple debates with Cuomo, who remains ahead in polls. He has even offered to debate Zephyr Teachout, Cuomo’s Democratic primary opponent. Teachout wants three debates with Cuomo before the September 9 primary.

“Professor Teachout is a credible candidate,” Astorino said of the Fordham law professor. “She is someone that I respect… She is talking about issues that certainly matter to Democrats and she should get a fair hearing from him.”

“That’s why I’ve said if he’s too much of a coward or his criminal defense attorneys won’t let him speak, then I’d be more than happy to give her that platform.”

So far, Cuomo, who is masterminding his own re-election campaign, has pursued a strategy of ignoring his challengers and trying to remove Teachout from the primary ballot, claiming she hasn’t lived here long enough to qualify to run. The other candidate on the primary ballot is Randy Credico, a New York City stand-up comedian who is running on a pro-marijuana, anti-Cuomo platform.

Cuomo continues to hold a massive lead over his challengers in the polls. The latest data shows the governor has a 28-point lead over Astorino.

At a press conference here called to publicize his jobs plan, Astorino said a poll out this week showing him far behind Cuomo even as voters say Cuomo is part of the Albany corruption problem is not an accurate picture of the race. He said voters are hearing his message of cleaning up Albany, and creating jobs by cutting taxes and government regulations.

“When people know about the public corruption and the fact that this governor is under investigation by the federal prosecutors for some very big potential crimes here – obstruction of justice, witness tampering – they’re more likely to not vote for him,” Astorino said.

The jobs plan Astorino is rolling out this week includes cutting taxes and regulations, approving hydrofracking mining of shale gas upstate, investing proceeds of a settlement with BNP Paribas ban in infrastructure public works projects, and expanding vocational education programs for students.